Alfalfa Dairy Farm, Souther Africa

Alfalfa Dairy Farm, located in the Breede River Valley just outside Worcester in the Western Cape, currently has 4250 cows, including 2100 in milk. The milking herd is 60% Jerseys and 40% Holsteins. All the heifers born on the farm are raised onsite, and additional heifers are bought in from other farms.

Home Alfalfa Dairy Farm, South Africa

Alfalfa Dairy Farm, located in the Breede River Valley just outside Worcester in the Western Cape, currently has 4250 cows, including 2100 in milk. The milking herd is 60% Jerseys and 40% Holsteins. All the heifers born on the farm are raised onsite, and additional heifers are bought in from other farms.

“Before SenseHub we used to AI twice a day, but now we are AI-ing four times a day. This helped us to AI cows at the correct time, which also helped us to improve our conception rates.”

Natalie Low, Assistant Dairy Farm Manager

Challenges

Increase the herd size and per-cow milk yield by raising the pregnancy rate, shortening the inter-carving period, and reducing the mortality rate.

System

Allflex SenseHub system with Allflex monitoring ear tags flex

Benefits

Having improved the conception rate and cut 30 days off the average inter-calving period, Alfalfa now has 2100 cows in milk, up from 1500, and is getting 3.7 liters more milk per cow, per day.

  • Company:Alfalfa Dairy Farm
  • Location:Breede River Valley, South Africa
  • Herd size:4250 cows, 2100 of them in milk

Summary

SenseHub has been instrumental in enabling Alfalfa to increase its milking herd by around 40% in under two years. Much of this is due to better-timed AI. With cows getting pregnant earlier, the number of pregnant cows has increased from about 55% to 75%. Additionally, Alfalfa has halved the mortality rate, from 18% to 5-7%. Nathalie says that with SenseHub, “we were able to achieve the goals we wanted, it made management easier, and we also gained respect from our fellow staff.”

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We’d like to keep in touch with exclusive Allflex Livestock Intelligence offers and the latest info by email or phone. By clicking the box below you agree that Allflex Livestock Intelligence, may collect, use and disclose, among its related companies, your personal data which you have provided in this form, for providing marketing material that you have agreed to receive, in accordance with our data protection policy. Allflex Livestock Intelligence is a brand of MSD Animal Health, a division Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA, and marketing communications will be sent by entities involved in the MSD Animal Health operations. You have the right to remove your consent at any time, by contacting us at the following email address: dataprivacy@allflex.global
Allflex Livestock Intelligence is a brand of MSD Animal Health, a division Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA, and marketing communications will be sent by entities involved in the MSD Animal Health operations. You have the right to remove your consent at any time, by contacting us at the following email address: dataprivacy@allflex.global

Download Case Study

Alfalfa Dairy Farm SA

The conception rate has improved

to 23%

and inter-carving period improved from 420 days to 390 days

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